A witch's journey
by bluesilverleaf9298
Summary: In the middle of the forest lied a small cottage and a tiny garden of herbs. Every day, without fail, the owner of the cottage watered his beloved garden faithfully. However, one fateful day, Wang Jiexi woke up only to find a portion of his herbs uprooted and stolen. He then embarked on a journey in the hopes of finding the thief…
1. Chapter 1

Expressionlessly, Wang Jiexi stared at the scattered soil across his garden. There were ugly shallow holes, which were obvious traces of digging and careless disposing, everywhere, and the remaining plants which had not been stolen were damaged as well. His carefully maintained garden had been destroyed in a single night.

Turning around and pushing his oak door with barely hidden agitation, the witch approached a wooden trunk in the corner of the room. The trunk was locked with iron chains and underneath these chains lied a layer of dust thick enough to signify that the lack of use had spanned across many years, perhaps even decades. After carefully opening it, he picked out a perfect round globe made of glass, which was crystal-clear with hints of ice blue veins at its core, from the bottom of the trunk.

"Warlock, warlock, I need help."

A thin wisp of smoke appeared within the spotless glass, swirling and growing larger and larger until a miniature storm of greyish clouds was circling at high speed, still trapped within the globe yet seeming to crackle with power. A blurry image of a white-haired, blue-eyed man wearing a velvety pointed hat appeared.

"Magician, what brings you to seek my help? If I recall correctly, the last time we have had contact with each other was quite a few years ago."

Ignoring the faintly condemnatory tone, Wang Jiexi summarized the story about his missing herbs and asked the warlock for a location spell.

A moment of silence passed before the warlock calmly answered. "You can bring some of the soil that has been touched by the thief to my place, and I'll see what I can do."

"Are you still living in that castle on top of Blue Brook Mountain?"

A slight hint of hesitation passed through the white-haired warlock's eyes, though it was unnoticed by the expectant-looking witch because of the curved surface of the globe distorting the image. "Yes, you can still find me in the Kingdom of Blue Rain."

There was a hint of relief on the witch's face. He thanked the warlock and promised to arrive in at most ten days. Little did he know that as soon as the connection elapsed, the warlock had immediately contacted another person, who was a friend of his and was currently on the roads escorting the prince of the Kingdom of Blue Rain. The knight who appeared in the globe had golden hair and blue eyes as well, though the blue was mixed with a bit of emerald and was more aquamarine than a pure blue. His smile when he saw the warlock was as blindingly bright as the sun.

"Hey Wenzhou, why didn't you answer my call yesterday? I only left for a few weeks, and yet you already forgot about your pitiful friend! But then you're contacting me now so that means you miss me as well right? You're still my good brother then! Haha, I know you won't ignore me forever! That brat Lu Hanwen kept telling me that you've finally grown tired of me and decided to severe our relationship, but I told him that our brotherly bond's not so easily broken! Glad to know I'm right – not that I ever doubted myself, but I'm still glad! Speaking about that brat, this morning…"

 _It should be His Highness, Lu Hanwen, not "that brat". Nonetheless, if Shaotian actually addressed the prince respectfully one day, I would probably think he was an imposter._

The warlock, whose name was Yu Wenzhou and one of the top sorcerers in the entire planet, was unable to help himself from interrupting the ongoing speech in fear of having a headache.

"Shaotian, did your group happen to stumble upon a herb garden yesterday?"

On the other side, the long-winded knight was suddenly quiet. Utterly, suspiciously quiet.

The guilty silence stretched for a long period of time as the two men stared at each other.

Huang Shaotian gave up in the end, facing the warlock's serious gaze. "Fine, fine, yesterday night we did see a herb garden in the forest we were travelling in. But I swear, we only picked a single herb! Like one herb, one tiny, insignificant herb. No big deals, right? It's not my idea, that brat of a prince kept going on and on about how they were magical herbs and we should pick one to bring it back to study, and that it's for the purpose of research, and how it could dramatically increase the production of medicine bla bla bla I didn't really catch the rest of his words. It's only one herb though. How did you even find out? Was it some kind of sorcery?"

Yu Wenzhou sighed, thinking for the thousandth time how someone could think of so many things at once, or rather, how someone could spew so many words without actually thinking about what they were saying…

"It was only a single herb? Did you guys mess up the garden afterwards?"

The knight looked indignant. "How could you, Yu Wenzhou? Do you not believe in me anymore? I admit that sometimes I can be very talkative," _So you do know that,_ thought the warlock mentally. "But I've never lied to you, never ever!"

"Or at least never intentionally," added Huang Shaotian after some consideration. "But yeah, it was only one herb, and we didn't do anything to the garden. We're knights! Our righteousness is renowned throughout the world, and we abhorred such despicable actions of ruining someone else's hard work."

 _Technically, you did steal, even if it's only one plant._

However, Yu Wenzhou wisely chose not to continue debating the morality of knights with the man. He merely smiled and asked about the currently state of his friend's party, and while the knight was occupied with retelling the story of his adventure, the warlock started deliberating.

As much as he felt thankful that it had not been Huang Shaotian's company who destroyed the witch's garden, it remained a fact that they did disrupt the plants. What if the location spell pointed at them as the culprits? He had no wish for his old friend, Wang Jiexi, to be involved in an argument with the elite knights of Blue Rain and its prince, even though he had not met the witch for a long time already. Such a thing would spell only disaster to both sides, as the witch was titled the Magician for a reason – his potions and fighting skills were nothing to laugh at, and while the elite knights were extremely well-versed in the art of swordplay as well, there would still be heavy casualties facing such an unpredictable and powerful person.

With a sorrowful expression, Yu Wenzhou sighed repeatedly. How could Huang Shaotian be so skilled at attracting trouble wherever he went?

Regardless, this mess was his responsibility now.

"…In the end, the squirrel bit that brat and ran away. He has been furious for the entire day. I really feel satisfied looking at his gritted teeth! Wenzhou? Wenzhou, did you hear anything I said? Wenzhou, earth to Wenzhou…"

The warlock finally decided to wait for the witch's arrival before doing anything.

-0-0-

The moment he stepped onto the main road, Wang Jiexi knew something was wrong.

Even though this village was on the far side of the outskirts of the kingdom, there was a crowd of people travelling back and forth. Many were dressed in mottled brown and had a haggard look on their faces, various kinds of weapons strapped onto their bodies. The most common form was a long sword bound with leather ribbons, sometimes with unique words or markings engraved on the hilts. Archers and mages were present as well, though these professions seemed to be not as popular as that of a warrior.

The second unusual feature was that the stores in the marketplace were neatly arranged in rows and of great quantity. Again, weapons were prevalent in the majority of them, along with colourful flasks of potions and pieces of armours glittering under the sunlight. Despite the overwhelming number of goods, trade was going well from the sheer amount of interested buyers. If not for the hustling and bustling noises in the lively atmosphere, Wang Jiexi would have thought a war was going on.

As he passed through several beckoning sellers, his interest in the merchandise was gradually developed. Aside from knives, blades and crossbows, many stores displayed bits and pieces of sparkling jewels strung together in what was called "charms". There were even "talismans", which were strips of paper marked with words and self-declared spells on them. Apparently, these products offered protection to their owners and were hugely in demand, especially in the case of women.

However, even as he tried to blend in with the flowing stream of people, many kept staring at him, looking as if they found someone incredibly suspicious. It took only a short while for him to realize that his elaborate robe and the slightly curved hat that he was wearing were rather noticeable. When he asked a middle-aged seller stationed at a clothing store about this issue, the man gazed at him funnily and questioned seriously whether he was wearing his grandfather's old clothes.

Wang Jiexi tried to recall the last time he left the forest. Was it… fifteen or sixteen years ago?

Nonetheless, after he changed into a more modern set of olive tunic and black pants, he was still attracting a plethora of glances at his way. For example, the giggling group of female mage apprentices behind him. Or the young girl standing behind one of the stores who blushed when he walked across her father's store. Or the noble lady dressed in a peach silk gown looking through the glass window of her carriage.

In fact, his most attentive admirers, ehem, people wariest of his identity were a group of knights who were following him from behind a distance away.

One of the knights, a veteran with his hair speckled with white, was detailing exactly why he felt distrustful of Wang Jiexi.

"…what kind of man even grows his hair long like that? And then there's his eye patch, if you ask me there's something notorious about it, it's pure shady. I'm telling you, his eyes are just unholy, he looks like what I imagine a humanoid demon will be…"

Coughing, one of the younger ones chirped in nervously. "Actually, he's kind of cool with that eye patch covering his right eye…" his murmuring went down in volume until it was no longer within the human hearing range.

Surprisingly, the prince's ever-talking personal bodyguard was silent. In his mind, Huang Shaotian was thinking about how this green-eyed man strangely reminded him of his warlock friend. Was it because of the old-fashioned long hair that he had only ever seen on those senile mages? Though if he was being honest, the hairstyle did match that person's ageless appearance.

Blissfully unaware of their conversation, Wang Jiexi continued on, slightly on guard for any sign of trouble but having found nothing visibly wrong. His first day in town, the sixth one since he set out from his cottage, ended peacefully in an unremarkable inn – the embodiment of the calm before the storm. In a stroke of destiny, his targets, or at least those implicated in the thievery, were only a few tables away from his seat without him knowing.

Dinner, which consisted of pork stew and mushy potatoes and carrots, was better than expected, considering his survival on vegetables, berries and occasionally meat for the past decade or so. To be fair, it was not that he lacked the capability to assemble a proper meal for himself; concocting potions and writing new formulas always took a lot of efforts, and when the starry night finally descended, he would have collapsed onto his bed already.

As he slowly savoured the rich taste of _actual food,_ Wang Jiexi tried his hardest to listen to the other guests' conversations.

"Business is prospering, ayy?" a rough-looking man slapped the shoulder of the inn keeper and laughed heartily.

Without any ill will, the inn keeper smiled back. "Never saw so many guests in my forty years of life before."

The first man's companions nodded in unison. "True, true," chimed in another with his mug raised. "With all this hype about the Demon King being born, people are stacking up sky-high piles of food and fur in the capital. The list of jobs for us adventurers is endless, and they pay us well too." He flipped a shiny gold coin into the air as evidence.

A booming cheer went around that table. "Ha, you lucky bastard, you've got a pretty fiancée waiting for you back home. Weddings sure cost a lot, do they? Do you really intend to renounce your bachelor status so soon?"

The boisterous sounds remained deafeningly loud, but Wang Jiexi was occupied with analysing the information he had heard. _The last time the Demon King was born,_ he silently mused, _was thirty-something years ago. If I remember correctly, the kingdoms decided to band together to crusade against him and launch an army into the demonic lands, but for some reason they stopped mid-way._

The official explanation given by the royalties had been that a hero had defeated the Demon King, of course, to soothe the masses. _As if any mortal can kill "that person" – avoiding the fate of being thrown into the depths of hell was a magnificent accomplishment already._

And now the Demon King had risen after years of inactivity. _The question is, is he the original Demon King or a successor?_

The witch blinked in confusion. Why exactly did he need to think about this issue? His sole mission was to find the warlock and track down the thief, not to declare war against the Demon King or whoever he was. Sighing, he finished his bowl and stood up. _Habits sure die hard._

 _The only thing I want right now is to return to the forest and continue racking up potions in peace._

Fate, however, was a fickle mistress with an ever-changing mood.


	2. Chapter 2

There was one thing about life that had remained unchanged for thousands of years. Those favoured by fate, like the Demon Kings who were destined to live an "interesting" life in many senses, or special humans such as the royal knight Huang Shaotian whose natural ability to attract attention, positive or not, ensured that he could never feel bored for more than a few hours, were small in number. Nonetheless, all of the chosen ones would be prized mortals of the goddess for the rest of their lives, regardless of their wish.

Wang Jiexi, the pitiful witch whose only desire was to get back to his hermit-like lifestyle as soon as possible, was one such case.

Somebody tapped his shoulder.

"Sir, can I speak with you?"

Turning his head around, Wang Jiexi replied nonchalantly. "Yes?"

The person who had initiated the conversation was quite youthful, with his head lowered and a slightly reddened face.

"Sir, my... boss would like buy you a drink. That is, if it doesn't inconvenience you, sir," stammered the boy. The admiration in his eyes which was directed to Wang Jiexi was real, if a bit sudden and unexpected. The witch conducted a brief check over his own body. _Am I wearing something strange?_

He thought about the invitation for a while, then nodded. The nervous boy led him to the table where about twenty knights were sitting, their high-quality armours dull from days of travelling yet they themselves still seemed to be in great spirits. Wang Jiexi paid particular attention to the poise and elegant young master sitting at the centre as well as the blond knight sitting next to him, whose eyes were as sharp and alert as the cutting edge of a dagger. The boss should be that young master who looked like a fourteen-year-old kid, despite his tender age.

Sure enough, that noble-like boy offered him a handshake as he sat down, a flawlessly polite smile on his face.

"Sir, may I know your name?" said the young master.

Wang Jiexi replied truthfully. "I'm called Wang Jiexi."

As a side information, albeit he had been extremely famous on the continent a decade or two ago, the well-known persona was "The Magician" and not the witch named Wang Jiexi. That was the only reason why he felt comfortable giving out his real name, along with his instincts telling him that the identity of the boy before him was not simple either.

There was no sign of recognition in any of the knights' expressions. "Nice to meet you, good sir. My name is Hanwen."

There was a mischievous twinkle in Hanwen's eyes. Wang Jiexi noticed that he had intentionally left out his surname, which confirmed his initial suspicion that the boy should be an aristocrat in disguise, and a probably a high-end one at that.

"If possible sir, can you tell me your profession?" continued the young noble in half a breath. "I've never seen you in this side of the town before, and you don't have the local accent. I have a feeling you are quite powerful, though."

At this point, in their minds, the knights were cheering for their prince. What "never seen you here before", that remark would be more correct directed towards His Highness instead – their prince was bullshitting, and it was even so fluently!

Wang Jiexi ignored the sneaky implication about him being a foreigner. If they really suspected him of being a spy, they should be suspecting half of the people walking in this place.

"If that is the case, may I ask for the reason behind your inquiry?"

Caution was never excessive.

However, sitting next to the prince, the gold-haired knight, whose name was Huang Shaotian and who had been strictly forbidden to disrupt the talk with his nonsense, mentally sighed in exhaustion. These two's overly courteous way of speaking was seriously rubbing him off. For the sake of his employment though, he refrained from saying that thought aloud with great difficulties.

Lu Hanwen continued smiling. "I'm merely wondering whether you would be interested in a job opportunity, sir. You seem rather capable."

Brows furrowed, Wang Jiexi responded in puzzlement. "Why would you think so?"

"Just an intuitive feeling," said the prince in a pleasant tone. "Grabbing potential opportunities is a necessary skill in life."

First surprise, then a wave of nostalgia washed through the witch's body, leaving an overwhelming sense of sorrow behind that quickly scattered and disappeared. This young master's attitude was extremely alike what his old friend, the warlock Yu Wenzhou, had stressed during the war against the Demon King years ago, when they had still been comrades-in-arms. In fact, that opportunity-dependent style had been prominent in the battling of those under the warlock's command, the dazzling beauty of which was most likely lost to Wang Jiexi's yearning forever. He was truly glad of the long-lasting impact imprinted upon the younger generations by his friend.

In the end, he was not given the chance to resume the conversation because there suddenly reverberated a painful howl and the thumping sound of a hard object knocking against the ground, followed by shouting and cursing that quickly escalated into a full-blown brawl between two groups of people.

 _Wait, what?_

Feeling as if there were some inaccuracies with that description, the witch blinked and slightly squinted his eyes. It was more like… a group of people trying, and failing miserably, to tackle a single man.

The lone man was utilizing astoundingly little force to fend off against the ten or so bunch of thugs charging at him. Clearly a swordman, he was heavily depending on the broken and knocked-down tables as temporary shields, and whichever object that he could get his hands on was mercilessly thrown towards his attackers. His accuracy level was astonishing – the curving trajectories of these random things made for a beautiful scene for those with sharp eyesight, and they always managed to hit an enraged assaulter even if it only fuelled their wrath further.

While his left hand was occupied with slowing down the people ganging up on him, his dominant right hand was waving the sword around. Yes, "waving", because Wang Jiexi could not think of a correct word to describe his actions – the man did not stab and slash like what an ordinary person would do, but followed his own unpredictable rhythm. At first glance, it seemed as if the man was moving his sword wildly without any purpose. However, when some of the attackers lunging at him suddenly dodged or stepped back, the keener ones in the crowd realized that every one of the man's movements effectively posed a threat to those trying to get a blow on him. For instance, when one of the men tried to jab at the swordman's thigh, the outwardly strange position of the sword, in that assaulter's viewpoint, would potentially swing at his neck and behead him cleanly should he continue his attack on the man. The ones who did back down somewhat were the more intelligent among them; those who had blindly ignored the signs suffered from various cuts and bleeding wounds.

On the other hand, as precise as his movements were, they mostly aimed to discourage and deflect the thugs' blows and not to injure them, which meant that very little blood was spilled in both sides. For one man to be able to defend himself against an entire group and not be beaten down in the first few seconds was already an admirable feat; nevertheless, with the current rate that things were going on, the deadlock would continue infinitely until either of their stamina ran out. Since there were ten of these thugs and only one of the swordmen, it was easy to deduce which side would grow tired first.

Apparently though, the attackers grew even angrier once they embarrassedly saw that after some time ten of them were still unable to defeat a single person. Their fists and kicks became cruder and heavier, but such a change merely allowed the swordsman to dodge fewer of these rough attacks. One of the thugs, fuming in rage, lost control and decided to risk everything, directing a flurry of punches towards the man without caring for defence. For a while, it successfully forced the man to concentrate on this sole thug and thus having a more difficult time fending off the others. Their eyes shone brighter than the sun witnessing the rapidly increasing number of bruises on his body, and they readied themselves for a final surge…

…until a "Splash!" sound rang through the air and the crazed attacker stumbled backwards, shrieking in pain. By some means, the swordman had sneakily taken out a tiny sack of powder from his sachet in a blur, smashing it onto the oblivious thug's face. The resultant greenish yellow powder invading his eyes was the cause of his agonizing screech.

All of the onlookers were stunned, some of them even on the verge of clapping. _What an intelligent (shameless) manoeuvre!_

Wang Jiexi, on the other hand, was hit by an intense feeling of déjà vu _._ Wasn't this "powder-throwing" style of fighting what a witch would do? Shouldn't this lone warrior be a swordsman?

Using the opportunity of the remaining thugs being momentarily dazed by his unexpected move, the so-called swordsman took out a few more bags and threw them at his assaulters.

… _Or not._

This time, everybody cheered for real. They whistled and debated among each other what brilliant actions the man would take next.

Under the bystanders' expectant gazes, the man heroically escaped from the thugs' encirclement and sprinted towards the group of knights, Wang Jiexi among them. He then proceeded… to hide behind this artificial barrier of imposing meat shields.

"Righteous knights of Blue Rain, these men abruptly pounced on me without any reason and wanted to bully me with their numbers. Could honourable sirs please lend me a helping hand?" said the man even as he hurled a bunch of powder behind, this one a bright apple green.

… _Bullying? Who is bullying whom?_

Everyone stared at the figure crouching behind the knights incredulously as they snapped out of their trance from this highly unanticipated situation. Asking for assistance from the kingdom's knights, who were renowned across the continent for their upright and virtuous conducts as the protectors of the weak, was quite logical indeed, but… who was the weak and who was strong here?

Lu Hanwen's eyes twitched. It was true that knights should be valiant and full of righteousness, but looking at this shady figure crouching behind the row of walking armours, who would occasionally fling an object or two and depended on _his elite knights_ to take the brunt of attacks, evoked an impulse in the prince to gang up on this man together with the thugs.

Whatever he did, it must have been exceptionally unbearable for this little group of thugs to refuse to give up on their attack even in the face of proper warriors. That, or the attackers were just plain stupid.

The displeased prince turned towards one of his personal knights – not the unreliable Huang Shaotian, of course – and gave the order to "clean this mess up." The older, grey-templed knight first tried to negotiate with the attackers, citing reasons such as immorality and various other knightly-sounding words, but the ongoing onslaught remained unaffected and some of the knights had already been forced to defend themselves already. Facing a bunch of hooligans, this "negotiation" was only meant for show. The knights then started beating them up in the resounding cheers and encouragements of bystanders.

When the last attacker was defeated, an incident occurred. Somebody pointed at a certain gold-haired knight, his finger trembling.

"Isn't that… Sir Huang Shaotian?"

Murmurs rippled through the crowd. "Huang Shaotian? The Sword Saint? Where is he?"

A stranger yelled. "It's him! I saw him last year during the national parade. OMG it's really Huang Shaotian!"

The atmosphere became even more heated when another spoke in confusion. "Wasn't it announced that the Sword Saint has exclusively become the first prince's bodyguard? How can he go on a random mission and left His Highness behind?"

The dots quickly connected, and everyone's gazes converged on the hooded figure among the knights, the sole person not wearing armour. Except for Wang Jiexi, but nobody cared about him.

"Your Highness…?" Asked the elderly knight in concern.

A sparkling smile plastered on his face, Lu Hanwen took off his hood in resignation, triggering yet another explosion of exclamations.

"It's His Highness! It's really His Highness!"

"He's so cute!" Squealed one of the women. "Ehem, I mean he's so handsome!" Calling a prince 'cute' was not exactly suitable.

"Your Highness, could you help me name my newborn?"

"Your Highness, please marry me!"

"…" Such a brazen confession! Youngsters nowadays, so courageous…

Lu Hanwen abruptly turned to the forgotten Wang Jiexi at the side and spoke without hesitation, "Sir, I trust that we'll meet again! I sincerely hope you would think about my offer. Even if you don't agree, as friends, you can still visit me at my villa at No. XX, XX street, XX city," before being buried in the overexcited wave of citizens along with the other knights.

 _Since when did I become friends with the first prince?_

A sense of uneasiness sprouted in the witch's mind. This kind of respectful attitude from a prince… He probably knew who Wang Jiexi was, but how?

In any case, the witch decided to retire for the night and asked the inn keeper, who had been watching the spectacle behind his counter, for the key to his room. When the cold metal object landed on his palm, he suddenly remembered something.

"Do you know where the man who caused the ruckus is? The person who had originally been the target of the assault?"

The inn keeper scratched his head. "Him? Oh, once the knights joined in, he left the inn. That's really weird, now that I think about it."

Wang Jiexi nodded in thanks and went upstairs, his mind a mess from tonight's events. He was sure that the swordsman had not gone all out; far from that, in fact. And his style of random fighting that incorporated so many witch movements in it… What if he had had a row of assassins' throwing knives, or the ability to cast spells like a warlock?

For the first time in many years, Wang Jiexi felt a flicker of trepidation.


	3. Chapter 3

The Kingdom of Blue Rain was a powerful nation with a long history. Legends told us that the founder of the kingdom, its first king, had a close friend who was also a skilled warlock. This pair of brothers of different blood travelled through many wetlands and deserts, through countless villages and cities, crossing endless rivers and seas in the hopes of finding a piece of land where they could root down forever as their ancestral home. When they finally stepped onto the top of a mountain in an uninhabited mountain range, they were hopelessly struck under the spell of beauty, of the crystalline water flecked with sapphire and emerald in its streams which glinted like liquid jewels with a hint of gold from the warm sunlight, of the cloudless blue sky richer and more mesmerizing than the most exquisite of flowers, of the flowing green of grassland similar to the finest silk scarf worn by the goddess of the earth. It was then that they set up a mansion, which eventually was modified into castle, and attracted various people seeking a peaceful lifestyle, officially declaring this heavenly land as a country comparable to any.

Afterwards, due to the difficulties in ruling from afar, subsequent royal generations decided to move the capital from the top of a mountain down to a nearby delta, with layers of cities growing at a rapid pace surrounding it. However, respecting the original wishes of the founder, that mountain was named 'Blue Brook Mountain', signifying the magnificent web of water streams that had made the landscape so breath-taking. In addition, the residence was given to the top warlock in the kingdom, who had also been the highest-ranking advisor to the king for hundreds of years without fail. Needless to say, the core of Blue Rain's military force was an elite group of warlocks, whose sorcery had kept the land safe against innumerable hostile forces.

As such, the foot of Blue Brook Mountain was heavily fenced and guarded by soldiers in an effort to protect the top warlock, currently the mysterious individual who went by the name of 'Yu Wenzhou'. Despite having arrived at the capital for half a day, Wang Jiexi was still unable to approach the gate to the mountain for more than ten steps. He could, of course, knock down the guards and barge into his friend's mansion-slash-castle, but a true gentleman, as he was, could never bring himself to commit such an impolite act. As a result, after failing to contact the warlock for two times, he decided to wander around the streets instead, knowing that the deadline of ten days was drawing near and that the warlock would pass a message to him soon.

As he walked around without a definite destination in mind, his eyes were drawn to the rapid torrent of clothes and vehicles. Compared to the roads in the villages, the capital's streets were neater and more orderly yet still bustling with people. The shops here were also more expensive-looking, built with bricks and proper roofs, full of colourful goods originating from numerous places. Inside one of the larger accessory shops, Wang Jiexi glimpsed a few elaborate hats, including a brown one shaped like a hemisphere but with defined edges, an upright fluttering snowy feather at its front, as well as a black velvety pointed one with its top curving a sideways, extremely alike a warlock's hat. The atmosphere seemed cheerful and lively, and the majority of customers were smiling once they exited the shops.

When the witch caught a glance of an apothecary, his feet automatically brought him inside. A high quality store it was indeed, with sophisticated flasks of potion displayed on glass, glimmering under the lamp light. There were also rows upon rows of common herbs, even a few living medicinal plants and small stacks of boxes containing dried ones, arranged in eye-catching pyramid shape. Wang Jiexi shivered a little when he saw the outrageous prices of these boxes, which explained why there were not a lot of customers hanging around.

A smiling assistant asked if he needed something, but the witch declined in preference of looking around by himself. He wanted to see the current level of apothecary-related developments.

Basic health potions, extra strength potions… These potions remained popular regardless of the era. The most distinctive feature he noticed, however, was that most of the products revolved around medicine and healing, evident in the stacks upon stacks of medicinal herbs and potions aimed at curing specific diseases. There was virtually no powder sold, and the few packs present were pitifully low in effectiveness. Such a scene was truly contradictory to the apothecary stores thirty years ago, during which attack potions and powder, mostly meant for combative purposes, had been much more commonly seen.

 _How things have changed._

Witches were nearly extinct now, replaced by pharmacists and potion makers. War had ended a long time ago.

 _Do I regret leaving them?_

Lightly sighing, Wang Jiexi purchased a few random herbs and prepared to leave. As he headed towards the exit, he placed his sight at one of the flasks displayed, within which swayed purplish, viscous liquid.

The current of citizens was fast and unending, so many people living with good health and in happiness. Why, then, should he still feel this aching mixture of nostalgia and guilt? He was no longer the Magician – the top witch in the continent. Wang Jiexi was his name, and Wang Jiexi the entirety of his identity.

Thus, he chose to walk away from his legacy.

Nonetheless, as previously mentioned, fate and fortune, this intertwined pair of living notions, were not be underestimated nor defied. In the beginning of the world, there had already existed the twin deities, the goddess of fate and the god of fortune, and in the end present would they be still. As such, on his way back to the inn, a shadow ran through him and his pocket was instantly emptied.

Fate favoured him. Fortune… depending on the situation.

At this point of time, a regular person would yell "Thief!" and nearby guards would definitely help him regain his possession – Blue Rain's society was famous for being orderly and harmonious.

However, asking this witch of few words to actually behave normally, ehem, to behave like an ordinary person, was simply impossible, because just one of him could beat up ten of the guards and not a single drop of sweat would fall – why would he bother asking for their help? Wasting no more than half a second, Wang Jiexi started running after the mugger. The mugger was fast but the witch more agile and disciplined in his use of stamina, so after a while the distance shortened at a noticeable pace.

As the mugger led him to a less crowded part of the city, numerous alleys and small roads crossing each other like a maze, his guards went up and he became more careful in tracing the criminal's path. He completely understood that this area was a chaotic place harbouring activities under the lamplight of the law, which meant that the thief was probably leading him to fellow criminals. The mugging had been planned and organized, and the mugger a master in his profession, which caused him to wonder about the power behind these activities.

A cautious person he was indeed, but he was not so easy-going as to offer the last of his cash freely. There was also a faint feeling of adrenaline, of excitement, an addictive one that made his blood, which had long been cooled down for decades, started rising in temperature – not that he had successfully recognized this feeling or consciously wanted it.

As he mused over the scenery, stopping at the head of the alley, shadows jumped out from behind piles of broken trash and joined the thief. Their expressions were murderous with a hint of arrogance, a typical case of using number to bully the weak. Wang Jiexi recognized the one standing ahead of the group, a muscled man grinning madly showing his broken teeth, as the leader of this ragtag group.

"Friends, today's our lucky day! The fish went into our net willingly. The god of fortune himself is blessing us!"

Crackling laughter laced with malice spread through the group. These hooligans, quite similar in temperament to the ones who had been attacking that strange swordsman, gazed at him like predators gazing at their food.

The leader sauntered forward. "How about this," he mocked. "Don't resist. We wouldn't want to destroy that pretty face of yours, would we? It'll sure fetch a lot of money."

Another burst of laughter.

Wang Jiexi merely smiled in response. "Sir, if you're willing to return me my wallet, I'll leave this place immediately. There's no need for enmity."

The man blinked in confusion. Shouldn't he have screamed or backed away or something?

Looking more closely at the green-clothed man before him, the leader noticed that he was entirely unafraid and even had a small, indifferent smile on his face. His black eye patch, which should have been imposing or at least disfiguring, somehow fit in with the rest of his features, which were fine and even leaning towards delicate, especially with his long hair. The witch possessed a gentle yet faintly solemn aura.

Also, that annoying smile with a hint of confidence, to the leader, was definitely asking for a beating.

The following scene was strictly an R18 one, with the result being a bunch of badly beaten gangsters lying messily on the ground and groaning heavily. The fighting was so one-sided that it did not deserve any description. The leader's initial imposing figure had long disappeared, replaced by quite a few colourful bruises decorating his skin like a twisted rainbow. Standing proudly without a drop of sweat was Wang Jiexi, whose smile had deepened considerably.

A calm man with a mild personality he might be (far above the clouds a certain goddess coughed), but his thirst for fighting had already been embroiled in his blood.

The witch approached the miserable-looking leader, who had curled into a ball and was trying to roll away as far as possible.

"Which organization do you belong to?"

The leader immediately replied humbly. "Great sir, we are in the Crimson Tigress organization. Our organization is one of the biggest in this city."

Mentally, the leader was furiously cursing. If not for the fact that they had underestimated Wang Jiexi and did not bother to bring along any signal charm, would he be so utterly humiliated such as this? His only hope now was that this person would let them go due to the big name of his organization.

Meanwhile, Wang Jiexi was in a dilemma. Should he really let them go, they would definitely try to take revenge in the future. However, he did not want to kill them either, firstly because of his dislike for killing in general and secondly because he did not desire to push their entire organization into taking action against him.

 _I'm only meeting Yu Wenzhou and I'll leave the city immediately, though. I'll be out of their reach before they even recovered._

At this point, he decided to spare his attackers and left this dangerous (to the attackers) place.

 _Goddess of fate, please let the rest of my journey be free of trouble._

-0-0-

In another place, there seated two people on a luxurious couch. One was youthful-looking, with a radiant, almost innocent smile and sparkling eyes, while the other had young and unblemished features yet calm and ageless eyes. Holding a gold-veined cup of tea in an elegant manner, he slowly sipped the fine aromatic liquid while putting on a respectful expression.

"Your Highness, is there anything I can help with?"

The youngster pouted. "We've known each other since my birth and yet you are always being so polite! There's nobody here. Can't you relax a little?"

Facing the pair of big eyes shrouded in disappointment, Yu Wenzhou could not help but chuckle. "Alright, my prince."

"Your Highness this, my prince that, just call me Hanwen, will you?" said Lu Hanwen.

"Alright," answered the warlock in amusement. "Hanwen, did you find anything during your trip?"

At these words, the childish look on the prince's face was wiped away, replaced by a seriousness that did not quite fit with his undeveloped features.

"Yes. From what I've seen in the Shadow Forest, the news about the increasing number of demonic beasts is real. The surge in energy is not limited to animals as well; some demonic plants have been sighted by adventurers, though we did not encounter any. The Shadow Trove…" Lu Hanwen hesitated.

Yu Wenzhou recalled his expedition in the Shadow Forest decades ago, and the deadly Shadow Trove in its centre, with silky petals darker than ink waving around seductively when there had been no wind, black tree trunks shrouded in eerie mist, and the freezing cold that had seemed to seep into one's bones. And at last, those perfectly round fruits with skin smoother a cut diamond hanging from scattered vines, within which lied a different form of darkness. Fruits which signalled the birth of the Demon King.

The prince took a deep breath, a faint layer of fear covering his face. "It has indeed borne fruit."

They both knew what it meant.

War was coming.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer (a little late though): I do not own any of TKA's characters. I'll try to keep their original personalities in this story, but since the setting is very different, there are definitely some inconsistencies.

Thanks for reading!

He should have felt fear, or at least a flicker of anxiety, but all that he was capable of feeling was a sense of resignation, of utter hopelessness. These long years of peace had been a charade, lulling everyone into a false sense of security. As those involved in the crusade against the last Demon King aged and died, the veterans and the experienced had been taken away, replaced by fresh recruits who had never seen a battlefield littered with corpses or rivers washed in blood. He did not want to restart the process of subjecting them to the pain and misery of war in order to turn them into battle-hardened warriors now. Such a staggering amount of misery should be witnessed no more than once in a lifetime.

This rise of another Demon King was far too quick, not leaving them any time to prepare. It should have happened in another hundred years, maybe even two hundred. It should have happened to another top warlock.

But it did, and the responsibility was his.

On the verge of sighing, Yu Wenzhou quickly scattered the urge and faced the first prince again without revealing his thoughts.

"Hanwen, as we've discussed, do not reveal this information to the masses yet. We don't need any more chaos than what the rumours have caused."

Lu Hanwen smiled bitterly. "They already know. Even without confirmation from the crown." He then nodded. "Of course I won't. The market is barely under control now, and soon enough there will be shortages of everything and prices will skyrocket once demonic beasts appear in larger quantities."

"And the nobles?"

The prince shrugged. "They are doing what they have always been doing: stockpiling. It'll be handled by the financial department, though."

Inwardly, Yu Wenzhou chuckled wryly. _Aside from being the top warlock, I am also the top advisor to the crown. It sure is a difficult job – it's a miracle none of my predecessors die of exhaustion._

Suddenly, he was feeling rather sceptical. _Don't tell me the deities above really have been intervening in this matter by protecting my predecessors so as to prevent the kingdom from descending into chaos?_

A light, comfortable breeze float through his body, as if agreeing with him.

… _Maybe I guessed correctly._

In any case, there was no other option. The king was incapable, and a fourteen-year-old prince and his mother were basically ruling this nation. Why else would he have held this conversation with Lu Hanwen who had not yet reached the age of maturity?

"Have you visited your mother?"

The first prince shook his head. "I went here directly."

"Why didn't Shaotian accompany you here?"

Lu Hanwen curled his lips in distaste. "If I have to listen to his chatter a second longer, I'll be the first royal in our entire history to die of excess anger."

A burst of regret boiled in his heart. _Lu Hanwen was originally quite an energetic boy, so he should have gotten along well with Huang Shaotian. Alas, he had to grow up too quickly, and buried that carefree side of his too deeply but for a few special exceptions._

The warlock looked at the prince who was donning a faint aura of elegance and regality around him, yet was unable to hide the youthfulness of his features. Nonetheless, even though he was grumbling about his personal knight, Lu Hanwen's sapphire blue eyes had some sparkles in them.

Yu Wenzhou smiled. _Perhaps this is also fine. Even if he doesn't state his obvious affection for Shaotian aloud._

Truly though, if Lu Hanwen did not carry the burden of a kingdom on his shoulder and became a carefree prince, the warlock wasn't sure he could handle both his chatterbox friend and a talkative Lu Hanwen together.

"Still, you should've stick with him for safety reasons."

At this moment, rapid footsteps sounded on the corridor outside. The door opened with a not-so-subtle push, revealing a figure with dazzling golden hair and stunning blue-green eyes.

 _Speaking of the devil._

Looking quite irritated, Huang Shaotian, the most talented swordsman in the world and personal knight to the first prince, walked bristly to the lounge where the two of them were glancing at him and threw himself down carelessly next to Yu Wenzhou. He then proceeded to invite himself to the barely touched dishes of pastry on the table.

Two people, one old (even if he didn't look the case) and one young quietly looked at the knight passionately stuffing himself in an unintended synchronisation.

Ten seconds passed. The plate of butter cookies had been reduced by a third.

Yu Wenzhou, being the good friend that he was, silently offered Huang Shaotian a cup of tea, which was similarly gulped down in a fervent manner as the food had been.

"Thank goodness, I almost starved to death just now! This is all because of you," the knight glared at Lu Hanwen, who rolled his eyes. "Going somewhere without me! Don't you know that I'm your personal knight? Your personal bodyguard? Damn it, you're such an ungrateful brat, not appreciating this valuable chance at getting protected by the most skilful warrior on the continent at all. Besides, even if you don't want me to follow you, it's still my job to! Do you want this great Sword Saint to get fired? Even if you don't like the sight of me – such a waste of luck, all people in the world dream of meeting my handsome self, ya should know how blessed you are now – you still need to tell Louis, or any of the others! We've been searching the entire palace for hours!"

Lu Hanwen replied nonchalantly. "So?"

Huang Shaotian glared at him. "Insolent brat, wasting my time all day long."

He took a deep breath, and started another flurry of words. "Worst thing is that you even visited my bro Yu Wenzhou before me!" He turned to Yu Wenzhou, who was sitting relaxed with a slightly amused expression. "Hey, Wenzhou, you still like me more than this brat right? Right, bro? Oh yeah, you should give me some justice. I've only ever seen two people whom this brat actually listen to, one is his mother, the other is you, so give him a beating for me, will ya?"

Huang Shaotian continued his lengthy speech, stressing explicitly on how powerful he was and how ungrateful Lu Hanwen was being for denying such an exquisite opportunity. Meanwhile, the warlock was the image of tranquillity, calmly sipping his chrysanthemums tea as if a human radio was not playing right beside him. From time to time, he would glance at the ancient clock decorated with glittering diamonds hanging on the wall, a gift from the founder of the kingdom to his loyal friend. When the hour tip pointed at the second hour, Yu Wenzhou gestured for the knight to stop.

"Shaotian, I'm about to receive a guest. Why don't you accompany the prince back to the palace to rest?"

The gold-haired knight glanced at Lu Hanwen disdainfully and stood up. "Fine, but it's because you're the one who asked."

"No worries. I don't need a monkey to protect me," replied Lu Hanwen in a smooth tone.

"Stinking brat, who're you calling a monkey?"

They continued to bicker back and forth even as they exited the room, leaving a helpless warlock behind.

Fifteen minutes later, a figure draped in a mottled brown cloak appeared at the doorway.

His first impression of the man was of the lack of changes in his appearance. With long dark hair styled in a braid which hang carelessly over his shoulder and green, serious eyes with a hint of gentleness, the witch was a split image of his younger self thirty years ago. The only adjustment was perhaps his aura, in which the sharp edge of purpose and determination had vanished, leaving behind a sense of resignation.

Sorrowful he was indeed, witnessing how a man born for battles had lost his taste for war. Not war as in mindless killing, but war as an art of beautiful manoeuvres and brilliant tactics, as a place whereby intelligence and strength were showcased in their purest form.

"Hello, Wenzhou. We meet again."

As he looked into those familiar eyes, a memory resurfaced.

 _The sky was clear blue with a tint of gold. Sunlight poured through the gaps between leaves, wrapping them in a honeyed glow. The crystalline sounds of birds chirping filled the air with warmth and ease._

 _It was the day of the first meeting between the major powers on the continent, with Kingdom of Blue Rain as the host. The goal of the meeting had been to form an alliance in response to the threat of the rising Demon King, and as the newly instated top warlock, Yu Wenzhou had spent four hours listening to the bickering between the various parties. Extreme distrust between nations was the norm, and a mere four hours of yelling came nowhere to resolving it._

 _Feeling disheartened and utterly exhausted, he had decided to mull over things at the imperial garden, a place of quietude and peace._

 _He silently counted. Currently, the four powers most likely to agree to the alliance were the Kingdom of Blue Rain, the Kingdom of Samsara and the Empire of Tyranny, the three nations which bordered the Demonic Mountains within which the rumoured demon race occupied, as well as the Witch Association, whose turf was located in the Dark Forest, the area nearest to the mountain range._

 _As for the other major powers… Yu Wenzhou frowned slightly. The home base of the mercenary group Excellent Era was far to the north, while the tribal states were down south. While Hundred Blossoms, an independent state made up of hundreds of islands on the eastern sea, was positioned close to the Demonic Mountains as well, there had never been a record of the demon race invading an island since 800 years ago. These powers would be tough nuts to crack._

 _Lost in thoughts, he didn't notice the sight of another person entering the garden as well. Unintentionally, he voiced his opinion out loud._

" _If only we invade the Demonic Lands before they invade us."_

" _If the powers neighbouring the Demonic Mountains invade the Demonic Lands, Excellent Era mercenaries will take a few border cities from Tyranny, Hundred Blossoms merchants will triple their wealth from trade, and the tribal states will pass through the Dark Forest unharmed and attack Blue Rain."_

 _He raised his head in astonishment at the shocking reply, only to see a young man of twenty smiling politely._

 _A few seconds passed in silence._

" _Not if the alliance is successful," the warlock answered. "By threatening to stop the streams leading to Excellent Era's territory, Blue Rain can keep that group in line. Position an alliance force near Hundred Blossoms, using the excuse of making the islands a base supply, to attack the coast adjacent to the Demonic Mountains is also possible. As for the tribal states, it is enough to sow the seed of infighting."_

 _The man's eyes widened, albeit marginally. He seemed more interested now. "If they do capture a few cities of Tyranny, they can store enough water until the rain season comes."_

" _Perhaps enough for their personal usage, but neither enough to march deeper into Tyranny's land nor to maintain their crops if Tyranny cuts off the water supply to those cities beforehand. After the rain season, won't Excellent Era be in deep trouble? The risk is not worth it."_

" _What about Hundred Blossoms? They would never allow a military force on their land."_

 _Yu Wenzhou replied with ease. "Not a single nation, maybe. But if it's an allied force, and we only occupy the unclaimed part of the archipelago as a warning only, it might work. They use their economic power to keep us in check, and we counter with a tangible military threat."_

" _Infighting among the tribal states?"_

" _Probably the easiest task out there."_

 _The young man chuckled. "That is all based on the case whereupon the alliance works, however." He said in good humour and introduced himself. "Wang Jiexi, vice-head of the Witch Association. Nice to meet you." The man offered his hand courteously._

 _The alleged genius witch who invented the truth potion?_

 _Yu Wenzhou shook his hand in a trance. "Yu Wenzhou, top warlock of Blue Rain."_

 _It was rather strange to see somebody of his own age here, where old and cunning politicians took the stage. He had heard about Wang Jiexi before – a prodigy in witchcraft, an extraordinary fighter and the destined future leader of the association. However, he detected none of the usual arrogance and hot-blooded attitude common among his peers in this polite youth. Instead, the witch possessed a calmness honed from years of experiences dealing with problems._

 _As a matter of fact, he seemed quite similar to Yu Wenzhou himself._

" _You can call me Wenzhou," the warlock said, surprising even himself._

" _Then, hello, Wenzhou." His smile was a shade brighter, and the green of his eyes softened._

The warlock sighed in nostalgia. Their first meeting might not have been as exciting as his with Ye Xiu, as heated as with Han Wuqing, or as memorable as with Huang Shaotian, but their friendship was deep and lasting.

"Thirty years, and you're still as polite as ever, Jiexi."

For the first time in decades, they were reunited.


End file.
